Make it go away.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071005/...o/craig_senate
Judge denies Craig's attempt to withdraw a guilty plea
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"Because the defendant's plea was accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and because the conviction is supported by the evidence ... the defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea is denied," Hennepin County Judge Charles Porter wrote.
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Quote:
He later said he "panicked" in entering his plea, believing that it would keep the matter quiet. The Idaho Statesman had been holding back an article on rumors about his sexuality, and Craig said in court papers that he feared the arrest would trigger the story.
Porter rejected that as a good reason to withdraw the plea. Any pressure Craig was under "was entirely perceived by the defendant and was not a result of any action by the police, the prosecutor, or the court," he said.
Minnesota law allows a plea to be withdrawn if a "manifest injustice" occurs, but leaves it to judges to define that. Porter ruled that none occurred in Craig's case.
"It is not a manifest injustice to force the defendant to be bound by his plea bargain and the waivers and admissions which he made in conjunction with the execution of that bargain," Porter wrote.
He also wrote that Craig hadn't produced any "newly discovered evidence" that would clear him.
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The GOP won't like this development. Kudos to them for asking him to step down from his senior positions. In a fair world, this would not reflect badly on GOP leadership, they have done all the right things under these circumstances. Unfortunately for them, they will take heat for this. Craig is being selfish. He is at this point a joke and a burden.
And JP5 gets to eat crow, which is awesome, because her vaunted GOP now has a legit scumbag sitting in its roll-call just like the dems, which totally sucks, except none of the dems actually PLEADED guilty. Good job Craig uppin' the ante!
I laughed until I cried.